Legal Ethics
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In a verdict handed down Thursday, May 26, 2016, jurors found that Google’s use of basic elements of the Java programming language to build its Android mobile operating system was a fair use under federal copyright law. While this is an important case in the fair use/copyright milieu, an earlier order by Judge Alsup is nearly as important to those following juror social media research...
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We often get questions about the security of "cloud computing" services like Google Apps and whether that security is tight enough for lawyers to use them. Google Apps, for example, meets the security standards put in place for the online storage of government agencies' information set out in the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2000 (FISMA 44 U.S.C. § 3541, et seq.). Cloud...
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In September 2015, the Colorado Bar Association Ethics Committee (Committee) issued Formal Opinion 127—“Use of Social Media for Investigative Purposes” to address the conflicting ethical opinions from various jurisdictions about how to apply the established ethical principles to the use of social media and social networks as investigative tools. The Committee stated, “In...
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Presentation: "Nixon's Watergate Abuses: The Hackings That Forever Changed Legal Ethics" to include Q & A John W. Dean, White House Counsel to President Nixon, will deliver a plenary presentation at ABA TECHSHOW on Saturday, March 29. His presentation, titled "Nixon's Watergate Abuses: The Hackings That Forever Changed Legal Ethics," will focus on the inception of the modern Model Rules of...
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As more and more attorneys find useful background and investigative research information in the social networking profiles of opposing parties, potential witnesses, experts, etc. more and more State Bar associations are issuing Legal Ethics Opinions discussing whether or not (or under what circumstances they can) view these profiles to collect information about these types of people. Follow us:...
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As early as 1996, many state bar associations began issuing opinions on Internet ethics, often focusing on law firm Web sites. Most of the rules and opinions relating to online communications apply the advertising rules that already exist for print advertising. In August 2010, the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released its Formal Opinion...
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More and more attorneys and judges are using social media. Some use it for its intended purpose of social networking (and, for the lesser intended purpose of marketing). Others take advantage of the information contained in these sites for an unintended purpose - investigative research. Legal pundits have argued (online and in print) about the ethical issues for attorneys utilizing this...
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More and more attorneys and judges are using social media, either for its intended purpose of social networking (and, for the lesser intended purpose of marketing) or for its unintended purpose of investigative research. There has been much discussion online amongst legal experts about what sorts of investigative activity is ethical for lawyers to engage in. Most Bar Associations however, have...
